Thursday, September 17, 2009

Day 4! A Little Tired

So far, the trip had been going very well. In order to make it back home without rescue, we needed to average 45 miles a day. Thus far our milage had been 61, 64 and 40, well above the necessary average. However, we were feeling a little tired and in need of a rest day. I still felt okay about making it back, but Anthony, who was much more familiar with the route once we left the coast, was not feeling so hopeful.

We didn't love Nehalem Bay's hiker/biker camp, so we decided to move on this day and then take a rest day the next day. We got up and made pancakes, our first pancake morning, which delayed our start somewhat, but were very good spread with almond butter and topped with the fresh blueberries we'd picked up the night before.

After our leisurely breakfast, we started in on our 48.5 miles of riding for the day, going to Cape Lookout.

We had a morning break at Rockaway Beach, which was a nice little coastal town, not nearly as busy as Seaside or Cannon Beach. If I were going to stay in a hotel on the coast for weekend, I'd probably go here. There was also a lake for swimming if the ocean is too cold for you.

On this rest stop, which was supposed to be a short one, we spent quite a bit of time talking with a lady from the Portland Metro area who was there with her family for a week. She was very interested in our trip, asking lots of questions about our route and how we'd planned it. Turns out that she homeschools her teenager herself. It was a nice, if longer than planned break.

We didn't get around to lunch until late this day. We didn't realize quite how late until after lunch, which we ate after our first serious climb of the trip - up Cape Meyers on the Three Capes Scenic Route. Cape Meyers boasts a light house and we ate lunch there.

After lunch, there were some phone calls to be made. I was scheduling meetings and playdates even on the trip, which I'll tell you more about tomorrow. Then we strolled over to the light house to check it out. We took a meandering walk down, pausing to take pictures and such. Just as we got to the door to the lighthouse, though, they closed up for the day, it being 4:00, apparently. And here we'd just had lunch. Hmph.

Although, before lunch, we'd stopped in Tillamook to grocery shop and I'd picked up a few So Delicious bars (soy based frozen treats) for a snack, so we weren't depriving ourselves or anything.

We had a lovely ride around the bay on the way into Cape Lookout, with the sun getting lower in the sky and things looking beautiful. It was a little later than we liked to get in, but not horribly so. Davan and I headed for the showers while Anthony set up the tent. Thus began our shower ordeal.

Let me begin by saying that I was feeling pretty tired. I'd had a good day of riding, but we all felt a little slower that day and I'd had a couple of very early mornings, just with having woken up early and having been unable to get back to sleep. So, I was tired.

We get to the shower and there's a line. So, we went to another loop with showers and found an even longer line and less appealing showers. We opted not to go back, thinking the lines would just be getting longer. Finally, we make it into a shower, get undressed, throw our dirty laundry on the floor, turn on the water and...just a cool trickle comes out. There is still a line, so we were sort of reluctant to go back out. Would people let us have the next available shower or would we have to go back to the end of the line?

We tried to start washing. It's just not working, so we put wet clothes back on to try for another shower. Just as we exit the shower, the water suddenly bursts into life. Back in we go, undressing again. The water is luke warm and very dispersed, but we're sort of able to do the laundry. Then the water turns off and we have to push the button again. Back to a coolish trickle. I start crying. Too much stress for me for the moment.

We keep washing. By this time, the line is gone and another shower even becomes available. Davan and I mad dash over to the free shower in our birthday suits, carrying various piles of washed and unwashed clothes and towels (hand towels, mind) and shoes. The new shower had plenty of power, but was still luke warm at best. This was our least pleasant shower of the trip. It took over an hour all told.

Anthony sweetly had dinner ready to cook when we got back and we ate (instant brown rice and baked beans with baby carrots and sugar snap peas) before he went off to shower. He hadn't taken a light with him and it was full dark by the time he got back. But, our softly lit tent guided him in for our family book reading and to sleep, knowing we didn't have to get up and go anywhere in the morning.

1 comment:

I had a couple of those days on different trips. The first time was when I had a second night of no sleep when in Lake Louise and we were camped not far from the train and the temp was just above freezing over night. I didn't think I could go on, but of course did and it got better. The stress after being tired can really take a toll. The next year in Lake Louise my friend and I bought tin foil blankets which helped keep us warm but we woke up damp. It was much better.